Post Windows Setup Tips and Tricks

Mainly going to use this for personal notes. This is a checklist I made for a post windows install. I would say, on average, a fresh Windows wipe every 6 to 9 months keeps everything in tip-top shape.

  1. Install Revi or Atlas Playbook
  2. Drivers & Trial Apps/Activate
  3. Configure Fonts
  4. Setup Password Manager: EnPass
  5. Auto-Login: Skip Password Screen
    • reg ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PasswordLess\Device" /v DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
    • netplwiz
  6. Install Apps
  7. Review Checklist
  8. Everything else
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Example Taskbar
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Example System Tray

Install Playbook

If for some reason, you don't want to use a playbook, definitely grab the Win11Debloat debloat tool. Remember, just pick one, you can't go wrong with either. I think Atlas is more more popular, but Revi is ~8% better. Both are amazing, and will create a much better and more private Windows experience.

Trial Apps/Activate

Configure Fonts

When you access the web or use your PC you want everything to look beautiful. This all starts with a proper font loadout. So you should customize your browser fonts, your system fonts and everywhere else. I think this is why Apple computers had some good mainstream success. I have a huge monitor, I like using 20px as a base font size, MAYBE 18px but I don't want to squint my way into the 90s and baseline 14px and gradually increase. 125% zoom isn't bad either… 😏

  • In browser, chrome://settings/fonts configure:
  • Install Apple fonts on Windows (even though they are not optimized for everything it's nice to have them
    • I know longer do this, I think it works and looks good but this font is no longer for me.

Auto-Login: Skip Password Screen

HOWTO: Skip Windows 11 login, go straight to desktop

  1. Open Command Prompt as administrator and run command to enable the older netplwiz functionality
  2. reg ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\PasswordLess\Device" /v DevicePasswordLessBuildVersion /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
  3. WIN + R and paste netplwiz and select user account
  4. Uncheck “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer”
  5. Apply, Reboot, Done.

Additional wake-from-sleep configuration

  • WIN + I to launch into settings than nav to Accounts > Sign-in options
  • Turn off “Only require Windows Hello sign-in” if enabled
  • NEVER = Additional Settings > If you've been away, when should Windows require you to sign in again?

Setup Password Manager: EnPass

If you download the Windows Store version, I found that i performs better than the legacy/classic .exe install. Especially noticeable with auto password input prefill.

Everything Else

Setting up DNS at the router level is the best way to filter and protect, but requires the most work so you should just use a HOSTs file, or an App or even a VPN… AND AT THE VERY LEAST Browser Filters. If you setup router dns, or even NextDNS, you probably won't even need an ad blocker.

PowerShell Admin commands

  • disables taskbar hover previews (10s delay), sets instant tooltips (0ms), kills animations globally, restarts Explorer for snappy UI
# Disable taskbar thumbnail hover (10s delay = effectively off)
New-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" -Name "ExtendedUIHoverTime" -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" -Name "ExtendedUIHoverTime" -Value 10000 -Type DWord

# Minimize mouse hover time for tooltips (near-instant, default 400ms; set 0 if wanted)
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Control Panel\Mouse" -Name "MouseHoverTime" -Value "0" -Type String

# Disable all animations for snappy feel
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VisualEffects" -Name "VisualFXSetting" -Value 2 -Type DWord
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics" -Name "MinAnimate" -Value "0" -Type String

# Zero startup delay for apps (no wait)
New-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Serialize" -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Serialize" -Name "StartupDelayInMSec" -Value 0 -Type DWord
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Serialize" -Name "WaitIdleState" -Value 0 -Type DWord

# Instant menu show (default 400ms)
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop" -Name "MenuShowDelay" -Value "0" -Type String

# Explorer tweaks: no search indexing delay, faster navigation
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" -Name "DisableSearchBoxSuggestions" -Value 1 -Type DWord

# Restart Explorer
Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force
  • Disable JPEG wallpaper compression
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop" -Name "JPEGImportQuality" -Value 100 -Type DWord
Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force

Personalize OS Tweaks

  • Tweaks for taskbar, registry, wallpaper, “snap to” mouse, keyboard software, etc
  • Setup media sharing / streaming
  • Configure network printer
  • You can use something like https://legacyupdate.net/ to help fix your older PC.
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